Skip to main content

Johnny Depp will play a pivotal character in the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ sequel

johnny depp fantastic beasts and where to find them 2 cast version 1478095619
Image used with permission by copyright holder
The Warner Bros. Pictures’ film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them doesn’t arrive in theaters until later this month, but its follow-up has already acquired a high-profile cast member.

Johnny Depp has signed on to play a featured role in the sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, joining the first film’s star, Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne. Depp will play Gellert Grindelwald, the notorious Dark Wizard whose friendship with Albus Dumbledore affected the course of both their lives.

As initially reported by Deadline, Depp’s role will be introduced in the Harry Potter prequel film Fantastic Beasts, but only “if you look carefully.” His part in Fantastic Beasts, which is set 70 years before the events of the original Harry Potter franchise, is described as a “tiny turn.” The character will play a more prominent role in the second installment of the spinoff series.

“Grindelwald is an iconic character, so it was important to have someone who had that weight,” said producer David Heyman in an interview with The Leaky Cauldron when asked about the creative team’s decision to cast Depp. “There’s a reason why he has that weight. It’s because, you know, he’s a fine actor who makes unexpected choices.”

Portrayed by British actor Jamie Campbell Bower (as a young man) and Michael Byrne (as an older man) in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Grindelwald is a key figure in J.K. Rowling’s series of novels, but didn’t play nearly as important of a role in the films.

“Johnny Depp is a real artist,” added director David Yates. “He’s created several characters who have really resonated in our popular culture. He’s a really brilliant, brilliant actor. We were excited about seeing what he would do with this guy, the character. He’s fearless, he’s imaginative, he’s ambitious. We thought he would do something fun and special. So we went for him, purely on that selfish basis. We don’t care if he’s famous or not famous. We just know he’s interesting.”

Featuring a script penned by Rowling (her screenwriting debut), Fantastic Beasts casts Redmayne as magical researcher Newt Scamander, who must recover the fantastic creatures that escaped his care during a layover in New York in 1926. The story is based on the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them textbook used by Harry and the other students at Hogwarts School. A stand-alone book of the same name penned by Rowling was released in 2001.

The film will reportedly explore the vastly different dynamic between the magical world and the “No-Maj” (no magic) world in North America, after focusing primarily on the European regions of the world in the Harry Potter films.

Along with Redmayne, the cast of the film includes Ron Perlman, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Colin Farrell, Jenn Murray, Jon Voight, Gemma Chan, Carmen Ejogo, and Faith Wood-Blagrove. Yates, the director of the last four installments of the Harry Potter franchise (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and the two-part Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), returns to direct Fantastic Beasts, and is expected to direct the sequel as well.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them hits 3D, Imax, and standard theaters November 18.

Editors' Recommendations

Rick Marshall
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
New Fantastic Beasts movie posters reveal the cast
Eddie Redmayne as Newt in Fantastic Beasts.

There's a battle coming to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter several decades before his birth. While the rest of humanity heads inexorably toward World War II, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is about to unleash a magic civil war. And in this conflict, there are only two real options: Siding with the malevolent Gellert Grindelwald or with his former lover, Albus Dumbledore.

Warner Bros. Pictures has released 18 new character posters from The Secrets of Dumbledore. These are the major players in the war to come. But since Dumbledore (Jude Law) is restrained by a magical pact with Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen), he has to defer to his best student, Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne). But as good as Newt is, he isn't Grindelwald's equal. That's why Newt has been assembling a team to stand against the evil wizard. Unfortunately, he has plenty of followers of his own, and they aren't shy about using dark magic against their enemies.

Read more
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore trailer sends the wizards to war
The cast of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

There's a war coming to the wizarding world, and Albus Dumbledore has been forced to the sidelines while the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald assembles his forces. However, the first trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore demonstrates that Albus is far from helpless. Thanks to his efforts, an unlikely team of wizards (and one muggle) may be enough to turn the tide against Grindelwald. Their bravery is inspiring, especially in the face of Grindelwald's evil. But he has already arranged a nasty surprise for Dumbledore: A long-lost brother who wants him dead.

Since Johnny Depp was forced to step down from the franchise, this trailer marks the official debut of Hannibal's Mads Mikkelsen as the new Grindelwald. It's unclear if the character's new face is part of the plot or if the audience is supposed to simply accept the recasting without explanation. Regardless, Mikkelsen's Grindelwald is appropriately sinister and powerful in the new footage. He has also convinced Credence Barebone that Albus wants him dead because Credence is actually Aurelius Dumbledore. This information is coming solely from Grindelwald, so we can't actually take what he says at face value. Yet Credence believes it, and it fuels his confrontation with Albus in the trailer.

Read more
Fantastic Beasts 3 now has an official title and 2022 release date
Jude Law and Eddie Redmayne in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

Nearly three years ago, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, the most recent installment in the Harry Potter prequel film series, left moviegoers with a big cliffhanger. Now, we know when the next sequel will arrive. Warner Bros. has announced that Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore will hit theaters on Friday, April 15, 2022.

Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling is once again collaborating with screenwriter Steve Kloves on the script. David Yates, the director of four Harry Potter films and both of the earlier Fantastic Beasts movies, is also returning to helm The Secrets of Dumbledore.

Read more